ServiceNow risk analysis - unix1998/technical_notes GitHub Wiki

In ServiceNow, the Change Management process includes assessing the risk associated with a change request. Properly answering the risk assessment questions can help expedite the approval process. The specific risk assessment questions can vary depending on the organization’s configuration and the complexity of their change management process. However, some common risk assessment questions and factors to consider include:

  1. Impact on Business Services:

    • Does this change affect critical business services?
    • Is there a potential impact on high-priority business processes?

  2. Change Type:

    • Is this a standard, normal, or emergency change?

  3. Scope of Change:

    • How many systems or components are affected by this change?
    • Is this change isolated to a specific system or widespread?

  4. Timing:

    • When is the change scheduled to be implemented?
    • Is the timing during a high-usage period or business hours?

  5. Complexity:

    • How complex is the change in terms of implementation steps?
    • Does the change require coordination across multiple teams?

  6. Backout Plan:

    • Is there a documented and tested backout plan if the change fails?
    • How quickly can the backout plan be executed?

  7. Testing:

    • Has the change been tested in a non-production environment?
    • Were there any issues encountered during testing?

  8. Dependencies:

    • Are there any dependencies on other changes or systems?
    • Have all dependencies been accounted for?

  9. Experience and History:

    • Have similar changes been made before without issues?
    • Does the implementation team have experience with this type of change?

  10. Approval Requirements:

    • Does the change require approvals from multiple stakeholders?
    • Have all necessary approvals been obtained?

  11. Communication:

    • Has a communication plan been developed for stakeholders and end-users?
    • Are all affected parties aware of the change and its impact?

  12. Monitoring and Validation:

    • Are there monitoring tools in place to validate the success of the change?
    • How will the success of the change be measured?

Example of Risk Assessment Questions

Here’s an example of how risk assessment questions might be structured in ServiceNow:

**Risk Assessment Questions:**

1. **Business Impact:**
   - Does the change affect a critical business service? (Yes/No)
   - Will the change impact high-priority business processes? (Yes/No)

2. **Change Type:**
   - Is this an emergency change? (Yes/No)
   - Is this a standard change with a predefined process? (Yes/No)

3. **Scope and Complexity:**
   - How many systems are affected? (Single/Multiple)
   - Is this a simple or complex change? (Simple/Complex)

4. **Timing:**
   - Is the change scheduled during business hours? (Yes/No)
   - Is the change during a high-usage period? (Yes/No)

5. **Testing and Validation:**
   - Has the change been tested in a staging environment? (Yes/No)
   - Were there any issues during testing? (Yes/No)

6. **Backout Plan:**
   - Is there a documented backout plan? (Yes/No)
   - Has the backout plan been tested? (Yes/No)

7. **Dependencies:**
   - Are there any dependencies on other changes? (Yes/No)
   - Have all dependencies been resolved? (Yes/No)

8. **Approval and Communication:**
   - Have all necessary approvals been obtained? (Yes/No)
   - Is there a communication plan for stakeholders? (Yes/No)

By answering these questions accurately and thoroughly, the risk associated with the change can be better understood, potentially leading to a quicker approval process if the risk is deemed manageable.